Puppeteer
by The-7th-Star
Summary: They weren't as strange a couple as you might think. (Bixanna week)
1. First

Second.

She stared at her name in horror, fluctuating between devastation and denial. Her name, Lisanna Strauss, next to a number "2," times new roman font, black and white. Second.

That was the place Lissana came in her class's mock biology exam, with a ninety-nine, one point off for spelling endoplasmic reticulum with an "h." She could have smacked herself. Science words were always insanely complicated, but to have added an extra letter was just plain ridiculous. Even so, one point away from flawless would have been fine, had no one else got a perfect score.

Barely anyone got a perfect score in Biology. It just wasn't done.

First.

That as the place Bixlow came in, and where her denial turned to confusion. Bixlow with a last name she couldn't pronounce. It was something foreign, and long, but it was his father who had immigrated. Of course, she had heard of him. Lissana was a social girl by nature, and Bixlow was a bit of an anomaly in the grade. He stood out, whether he was trying to or not. She couldn't really tell with him. But his rankings were usually below the top ten. Lisanna would know. She was very aware of whom were in the top ten.

She was number one, of course. That was just how it was.

Until today.

She couldn't tell if she was frustrated at having her spot stolen or if the situation itself was somehow making her act irrational. She was sure she wouldn't have been this furious if Lucy was the one who stole her spot. Her close friend was number two in all the classes Lisanna was number one in, and top in English and Math. If Lucy had stolen her spot, Lisanna would have congratulated her a job well done, and studied harder the next time. Perhaps borrow her notes.

But it wasn't Lucy, or even Erza, who studied in the library after school every day. Bixlow was an unknown, and that just made it worse. Perhaps he studied at home, despite his attitude at school. Or his parents had come down hard on him about hi grades. It could, as unlikely as it was, be a fluke. But she wanted to check

Lisanna psyched herself out for the confrontation all throughout science, staring at him from across the classroom. He didn't raise his hand once, his class participation grade must have been horrendous, she found herself thinking. She flinched when he whispered and cringed when he didn't pay attention, doodling all over his notebook. She was sure that he hadn't copied a single thing off of the board. Lissana scowled. She deserved that first place. And if she wanted to be a vet, she needed it.

By the end of class her normally sweet, if impish, temper was running short, and her notes were considerably messier than usual. The ink had smeared where her pen had wandered, and there were a few holes in her paper where she had dotted her "i"s with a little more enthusiasm than necessary. Lucy was giving her strange looks, as she closed her binder and slipped in into her backpack, but Lisanna was not in the mood to appease her friend and rival. Instead, she stood up, all but throwing her notebook into her bag before stalking up to Bixlow's desk with nothing short of murder on her face.

He glanced up as she approached him, with his statement of a haircut and the sweatshirt that said something in a font that she couldn't read without squinting, his look of curiosity changing to terror. Lisanna stood in front of his desk, drawing herself up to her full height, five foot four, before slamming her fists on the wood in front of him. He jumped in his seat, but didn't stand.

"_You."_

He gulped, searched for someone else she might have been talking to, before meeting her eyes. He looked like he'd wet himself.

"Me?" Bixlow pointed to himself, as if he didn't know what he had done to her. As if he wasn't aware of the emotional turmoil he had put her through.

"Yes you! How?" Lisanna straightened up again, waving her arms around before whirling back. Forget about rational. Sitting in that class had wound her up; she was livid. "You took my spot!"

"Huh?" He looked so confused, it made her want to shake him. Instead she waved her arms around a bit more.

"My spot!" She gestured to the board, where the mock exam grades were posted, her eyes wide. "I'm always first! How?" She wasn't bragging. It was a fact.

"Oh." A smiled tugged at the corner of his mouth, a look of understanding in his eyes. He leaned back, stretching out his legs. She had to move out of the way to avoid getting hit. "_Oh._ I get it."

"How?" Lisanna repeated. "You never pay attention."

The smile stretched into a sly grin, eyebrows quirking. "And you know that because?"

"Answer the question," Lisanna snapped.

He shrugged noncommittally. "Wasn't too hard. Ever bet me a game I couldn't do it."

"A game?" Lisanna clenched her teeth, and swallowed hard. Natsu and her brother did ridiculous things all the time. But this was a whole new level. "A _game? _You did it for a GAME?"

"Ummm…" Bixlow winced. "Yes?"

"What…" She closed her eyes, as if to block out the ridiculousness of the world and the teen in front of her. "What game?"

"The Walking Dead," Bixlow offered. "Newest episode." She nodding, lips still pressed into a thin line, eyes still closed. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "You… wouldn't want to come play it?" he asked. Lisanna seemed to perk up. "To make it up to you?"

Lisanna opened her eyes. He looked terrified, like she was going to hit him, and ridiculously confident at the same time. "You know what?" She rubbed her temples. She needed a stress reliever, and blasting zombies sounded like a good one. "I do. I hope you're available today, because I'll be meeting you at the gates today after school. Goodbye." She stomped off, or maybe skipped, and Bixlow couldn't tell whether she was angry or not.

And she was, but then she wasn't, because she had gotten a date out of her loss. Sort of.


	2. Gift

"Lisanna."

She had never seen Bixlow back down from any fight. She had never seen him so much as flinch in the face of nothing short of the worst odds. From brawls to test, he kept his cool. Fist fight in the hallways? Bring it on. Calculus final? No problem. In certain ways, he was more headstrong than her brother.

And Elfman was very, _very_ stubborn.

She had never thought she'd see him cowering, in a tree of all places.

"Lisanna," he hissed, "it's going to eat me."

She held back her giggle as her boyfriend whispered her name through clenched teeth, holding onto a branch for dear life. It was bending under his weight, just a little, the tree shaking when he moved. It was impossible to keep a straight face, so she settled. for a teasing grin. Sure, the dog was a little on the large side, but he had a collar, and his tail was wagging frantically as he barked up the tree for Bixlow to come down. He let out a puppy whine, flattening his ears against his head. He probably wanted a belly rub.

"It's just a dog," she pointed out, crossing her arms, shifting her weight to one leg and leaning back, to watch Bixlow struggle a little more. He was hilariously adorable, but from the look on his face, not amused. She could feel her resolve cracking.

"Lis," he muttered, "Baby, c'mon. _Help_ _me_." He sounded a little desperate now, and she had to sigh, arms dropping to her sides. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad had he not dropped his wallet, and consequently his phone, in his rush to scramble up the bark to safety in his irrational panic. But he had, and he was looking at it almost wistfully now. Her face softened. Lisanna bent down, hands on her knees, and began slowly coaxing the dog over to her.

"Who's a good puppy?" The dog, at least part Rottweiler, perked up his ears at her voice and turned around. He couldn't have been more than a few months old. "C'mere, boy," she continued, hand outstretched. "There's a good dog." The puppy ambled slowly over to her, perking up his ears and nudging her hand his his head so that she could pet him. Lisanna got on both knees and stroked the soft fur, as the sounds of Bixlow making his way down reached her ears. Lisanna could hear him behind her, far enough from the dog for comfort, but close enough to his girlfriend to intervine if the worst happened. It wouldn't.

"You've got that… beast, eating out of your hand," Bixlow remarked.

"He's not a beast. He's just a baby. Aren't you?" she cooed. "You just wanted someone to pet you." Lisanna glanced at Bixlow with a wry expression.

"Oh, no. No. I am not petting that…" He shuddered. "That _thing._"

"Come on. You can do it." The dog rolled over, exposing his tummy. "See? He's a sweetheart."

Bixlow grumbled, but put a tentative hand on the dog's stomach. The puppy glanced at him once, before laying his head on the ground, again, toungue dangling out goofily. She saw his shoulders realx and his tiny grin as the dog panted happily. "Animals just love you, Lis. You're amazing. You know that?"

"What can I do?" Lisanna said with a smile. "It's a gift."


	3. Baby

Nobody would play with him.

It wasn't because his hair was blue, he didn't think. Two girls had blue hair and plenty of friends, and as colorful as Bixlow's hair may have been, Natsu's was _pink_, pinker than the cotton candy from the fair the other week_._ And _everyone_ played with Natsu. The blond girl who insisted on her princess crown, and the redhead with the toy sword, and Gray, who always managed to loose his shirts after naptime. They played dragons and knights and princesses almost every day.

Bixlow didn't want to play dragons. The last time he had played dragons, Laxus had hit him on the head with a sword, and he had scraped his knee. Bixlow wanted to play dolls.

"Do you want to-"

"Dolls are for girls."

"Boys can't play with dolls."

"But-"

The teachers had no pity on him, when he had told them no one would play with him. "Play trains," one had said. "Boys like to trains. Someone will definitely play trains with you."

"But I don't want to play with trains," he said. But nobody cared.

Nobody would play with him, so Bixlow played by himself.

He had gotten a new doll, from his mommy. It was a knight, with a sword and armor and everything. He had just sat down in his usual spot, by himself, when the sound of wailing reached his ears. He looked up.

"M-M-Mira-nee!" She was small, but not tiny, and her eyes were filled with tears as she clutched at her sister's dress. Her hair was neatly cut and brushed, but it was tangling as she struggled to stay with the older girl. The teachers tried unsuccessfully to pry her off. "Don't leave, don't leave! I don't want to go!"

Her sobs were hysterical, and Bixlow found himself wandering over. The other boys were making faces, and some of the girls at started to look weepy eyed.

"Lisanna, you have to stay here." She spoke in that way that he knew meant that she was trying to be nice, but her patience was running thin.

"B-but," she hiccupped pathetically, clutching a stuffed bunny in her free arm. "N-no one's gonna play with me," she whimpered.

He wasn't sure when he had made his way to her, but she tapped her on the shoulder. She turned away, all teary-eyed and wobbly lips. "I'll play with you."

"You… you will?" She bit her lip, looking hopeful and a moment away from tears at the same time.

He nodded. "Do you want to play dolls?"


	4. AU

A hundred hats, every shade and color, every cut, every style on hooks around the room. A thousand chairs, every type of wood, with a thousand place settings surrounded tables. A million teacups and teapots, piled one on top of the other, or spread around the ordered chaos at settings, sent steam up in the air, making the room hot. The April hair drooped in one seat, waiting for the other guests, tugging at her neckline in order to try and cool off.

The door opened, and she straightened up. She wasn't sure where it led this time; it was never the same twice in a row, but she knew who was coming through it.

"You're late, Hatter," she said, turning around. Her short hair swished around the nape of her neck. The man grinned at her pout, taking a seat next to her.

"C'mon, Lis," he said, taking off his latest creation and draping it over a convenient hat stand. Everything was there when you needed it, in Wonderland. That, or it was nowhere when it needed to be found to most. She crossed her arms. "Call me Bixlow. You know that."

"And you know that you should have been there fifteen minutes ago." She turned away, lips pursed in a frown, ears drooping. Timeliness ran in the family. Sure, she wasn't as uptight about it as Mira, who just couldn't be made available, but fifteen minutes was late. "Cheshire will be here with the girl from the Alice World any minute."

He pulled out a pocket watch, glancing at it. "It's four," he pointed out. "It's always four o'clock here. Always teatime." Lisanna rolled her eyes, snatching the watch out of his hands.

"It's always four _here_, Hatter." She refused to use his name, only because she was angry with him. "But the rest of Wonderland has a sense of time, if a strange one."

He smiled, switching seats to one on the other side of her, so that she was looking at him. "I take it The White Rabbit won't be joining us today?" Lisanna sighed. He knew her too well.

"Mira's got an appointment with the Queen."

"Erza?" He shuddered, and she threw a teacup at him. He dodged, the porcelain shattering on the tiled floor, only to rematerialize on the table. You could never tell what would stay broken in Wonderland, but teacups were particularly resistant to damage. "Good luck."

"Oh, stop that. The last queen was awful, but Erza wouldn't kill a fly." She paused to expound upon this, picking up a pastry from the plate in front of her. "Within reason."

"Of course." He smiled. She always thought the best of everyone. "Cheshire won't be here for a while. He's taken a liking to the new girl. " He frowned rubbing his temples as he tried to remember. "Lucy, I think. Giving her a tour."

"Hmm?" Lisanna felt her irritation with Bixlow draining away. She knew it was irrational, but he had left her waiting. "Good for Natsu." It was only fifteen minutes, after all. Much more of this and she'd be as bad as Mira on a good day. "What ever will we do to entertain ourselves in the meantime?"

Bixlow leaned forward, with an impish grin. "I've got an idea."

"You don't say?" she dropped the cake on her plate, and it vanished in a puff of crumbs. "Same thing as yesterday?"

"Of course." He gave one more smile. Kind, strong, and with a little bit of crazy mixed in. Just like she was. And they kissed.


	5. Soul

The sound of a piano that could have used a tuner years ago echoed in the empty room. It was often a dare, to see who could last longest while the piano played by itself. It wasn't a player piano; there was nowhere to insert music. The baby grand was rumored to be haunted. Bixlow, for one, knew the rumor to be true.

The songs varied, sometimes difficult and sometimes not. Typically, it was classical music, or an old love song, but every so often someone would leave a music book there, showtoons or the latest hits, and watch as the pages flipped themselves.

Bixlow came often, sat down on the right half of the piano bench, and picked out a few notes. The tune was simple and childish. Everyone knew it.

"Heart and soul," a sweet voice trilled from the air next to him, as the invisible player, or invisible to most, picked out the bass cleff. "I fell in love with you. Heart and soul, the way fool would do, madly~"

Bixlow hushed the girl next to him. "Lis, someone is going to see."

"No they won't." Despite being dead, she looked solid as could be to him. She had been less clear at first, so transparent he had had to look twice."Hear maybe, but not see. You're the only one who can see me. And of course, the rest of the crew." She pouted, and the piano stopped, except for Bixlow's more simple part of the piece. "And that's because…." She bit her lip, looking away, her eyes filling with tears. He knew why, but wasn't sure why at the same time.

"It's 'cause I'm dying, soon, Lissana." They had been through this a thousand times. He was sick, and it showed. In his eyes, in the way he held himself, in his skin tone and muscle tone and hair. She had assured him as many times as they had touched on the subject of death that as a ghost, he'd be in perfect health. He had been the one who asked. "I know."

She sniffled, as if death scared her even though she was already dead. For years, from what he had heard, and not from something as gentle as disease. "It's not that bad," she assured him half-heartedly. "There's plenty of things to do. And you'll never get sick or tired again." She smiled bitterly. "Cause you're already dead, and there's really no point."

"I know." She looked so sad for him, Bixlow wanted to give her a hug. But he'd tried before, and had passed through her figure like she was nothing more than air. She could move all the object she wanted, open and close doors, press piano keys, but live people were impossible to touch to her, just like he wouldn't be able to touch ghosts until he was one. In that way, he couldn't wait. Bixlow was closer with her and the rest of the ghosts that haunted the old drama club than he was with the people he knew now, who were alive.

"Can you get the piano tuned?" she asked, pushing at a key halfheartedly.

"I'll put it in my will," he promised. Everyone would think he was crazy, but if he was going to spend who knows how long in the music room, scaring goofy kids who had nothing better to do, and playing music with Lisanna, he wanted a tuned piano, thank you very much.

She nodded. "You're going soon, you know? End of the month at the latest."

He looked down at her dejected frame. "It's fine. I'll just come back here." She glanced up, and smiled, all watery and sad. "So, let's start the piano lessons now. You can even sing."

She pretended to perk up at this, and he pretended to fall for it. Neither of them mentioned how the keys were wet by the time Bixlow left that night. Ghost tears were wet, no matter who touched them.

And if the group of kids that night, who just couldn't find somewhere else for their tests of courage, heard a voice echoing along with the chimes of the piano, than no one needed to know.

"Heart and soul. I fell in love with you."


	6. Family

She glanced up from where she was reading, looking at missions on the board, and he was struck one again by both how wonderful she was, and how lucky he was to have her. Years had gone by, and people grown up, but Lisanna was a constant in Bixlow's life.

The guild was swarming with families, filled to overflowing. Mira was going steady a nice boy from the town over, Ever pregnant with her first and Elfman twice as wound up as Ever. Cana and Laxus were looking into adoption, and there was never a day when the guild wasn't crawling with little Dragneels or Redfoxes or Fullbusters. In fact, Drake rushed past Lisanna now even as Bixlow watched, a mess of blond and giggles, with Xandra on his heels, blue curls straying from where Gajeel had pulled them back as best as he could.

Lisanna laughed as he ran right into her, and the Redfox girl into him, sending both children toppling into a pile of laughter. Lisanna helped them up and sent them on there way, but not before they managed a quick thank you.

She pulled a flyer off the board before noticing him watching her, and she turned around and grinned. She had to dodge Levy's newest toddler, Shale had the need to touch everything now that he could walk, before slipping into the seet across from him.

"I'm glad you don't wear that helmet around the guild any more," she said aloud. "I think Laila would be terrified."

"I know better than that," he said, before leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. "It's getting ridiculous, though. The guilds swarming with toddlers."

Lisanna gave a teasing smile. "I thought you liked babies."

"I do," he conceded. "But it would be nice not to trip on them every so often."

Lisanna nodded thoughtfully, before a puckish grin spread across her face. She tilted her head back playfully. "I don't think I'd mind tripping on them," she paused, leaning forward, "if they were ours."

He wasn't sure whether to run or not.


	7. Future

Can be considered a continuation of previous fic.

"Hey, Bixlow?" He sat next from his fiance in their apartment, and watched her sip er tea hands wrapped around a cup of earl grey. Her fingers drummed on the porclein thoughtfully, and she looked up. "I was thinking." That was "In all seriousness, do you want to have kids?"

Bixlow straightened up from where he was slumped on the couch. She sounded thoughtful this time, unlike her little tease in the guild earlier. He was all

"Just…" she trailed off into silence. Thoughtful silence. Brooding silence. Bixlow didn't like that kind of silence. "We're mages. Plenty of us live a long time," she admitted. "I mean, Gramps is _old_. Makao is no youngster either. But the life expectancy of a working mage-"

Bixlow flicked her in the forhead, cutting her off. Lisanna glowered. "What?" she asked, placing her tea on he coffee table so that she could cross her arms.

"Don't think about that." He frowned, and Lisanna glanced away, hunching her shoulders. She sulked, eyes dark.

"It happens." She looked so serious, it made him want to pinch her cheeks, poke her forehead, anything to make her smile. He liked when his baby girl was happy and laughing, playing with the kids, or in the midst of battle, when she was at her strongest. He always loved her, but loved when she was strong as well, because that was when she was happiest.

"It almost happened to me already," she reminded him Bixlow winced. The incident, years and years ago now, was not something he liked to think about. "I want kids." So what had happened at the guild that day hadn't been a complete joke, he realized. But she wasn't done. "But to leave them alone like that-"

"Stop." He frowned. "Stop that."

"But-"

"We can't control the future, Lis," Bixlow said. "We don't get to decide if we die or when we die. Everyone dies eventually." He poked her cheek, before his face spread into a grin. "We got to keep living, Lis! So if you really want a baby," he leaned forward, brushing her bangs back with his hand and kissing her on the forhead, "then we can have a baby. Or two. Or thirty. Ok?"

They couldn't see the future, but that didn't mean there wasn't one. And Bixlow's would surely be with her. He could feel it, as he watched her shoulders loosen and a smile spread across her face, and she nodded.

"Mhm."


End file.
